Methods of manufacturing wood veneers and the wood veneers so produced



' Dec. 22, 1970 M ALLAN 3,549,450

METHODS or MANUFKCTURING WOOD VENEERS AND THE WOOD VENEERS so PRODUCED Filed May 15, 1967 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 INVENTOR MORRIS ALLAN 9 v I e.

Attrs.

Dec. 22, 1970 ALLAN 3,549,450

METHODS OF MANUFACTURING WOOD VENEERS AND THE WOOD VENEERS S0 PRODUCED Filed May 15, .1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.2

INVENTOR M RRIS ALLAN United States Patent O Int. Cl. B32b 31/18 US. Cl. 156-254 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The manufacture of wood veneer having more than one section of an artificial flower with adjacent artificial flowers extending in the same direction is eifected by slicing in a rotary slicing machine a block of wood laminations formed from two sections each having wood laminations of substantially the same length and breadth, but the two sections of wood laminations being separated by a wedge-shaped portion comprising wood laminations of similar breadth but of lesser length than the wood laminations in the two sections. The wood laminations comprising the whole block are all bonded together simultaneously so that all the laminations in each of the sections and in the wedge-shaped portion are adhered at the same time under the same pressure which is caused to be similar throughout the length and breadth of the block, with the result that there is no line of weakness when a continuous sheet of wood veneer is sliced from the block using a rotary slicing machine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is well known to manufacture sheets of wood veneer which simulate natural woods, for example, straight grain oak veneers and veneers having an artificial flower. Such methods involve the manufacture from wood laminations of a block of wood laminations which is then sliced in a conventional slicing machine.

It is well understood that straight grain wood veneers may be sliced from a rectangular block formed of a plurality of flat wood laminations, which have been adhesively bonded together with the grain of the wood in all laminations extending in the same direction, using the knife of a flat slicing machine. Similarly straight grain veneers may be obtained from the same block by mounting this block symmetrically between the chucks of a rotary slicing machine and the product obtained from the rotary slicing machine may be a continuous sheet of wood veneer exhibting a straight grain.

By mounting a similar block of bonded flat wood laminations unsymmetrically between the chucks of a rotary slicing machine, that is to say, with the plane of each wood lamination at an angle to the axis of the rotary slicing machine, wood veneer exhibiting an artificial flower is obtained. Such wood veneer may be out either in separate sheets or as a continuous sheet of wood veneer.

In the latter case, however, the pattern along the length of the continuous sheet of wood veneer consists of a V-shaped flower follower by parallel lines giving a section of straight grain appearance which is succeeded by another flower consisting of inverted Vs, and another section of parallel lines of straight grain appearance. So the continuous veneer has, along its whole length, a flower consisting of alternating Vs and inverted Vs separated by portions of straight grain appearance.

The convenience, for example to an interior decorator or a manufacturer of furniture, of using a continuous roll of continuous wood veneer is evident. However, the fact of the V-shaped flower alternating with the inverted V-shaped flower has militated against the extensive use of continuous wood veneer cut from a block of flat parallel wood laminations, because the appearance which is preferred is to have the Vs all extending in the same direction, that is to say all natural Vs or all inverted Vs separated by portions of comparatively straight grained veneer.

Modification of the block from which the continuous wood veneer is cut must necessarily be undertaken in order to produce a continuous wood veneer having similar flower separated by areas or sections of substantially straight grained veneers. When reference is made in this specification to similar flowers, it is intended to comprehend flowers which have all their Vs the same way up, irrespective of whether the angle formed at the point of the V is the same in succeeding patterns or is different in one pattern as compared with the next adjacent pattern.

First experimental attempts to modify the block of flat wood laminations from which a continuous wood veneer have adjacent similar flowers is obtained proved unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons. In the main, these attempts failed because they have all involved the formation of a block of flat wood laminations followed by a cutting of the block, for example to remove a wedgeshaped portion from a central part of the block, and then a reglueing of the block, so that ultimately there is obtained a block which is not parallel-sided. Continuous Wood veneer cut from such a block has a built-in line of weakness continually recurring along the length of the continuous veneer, and corresponding to the place at which the two parts of the block have been reglued. Also, it will be readily appreciated that the initial formation of a block followed by a cutting of the block and a subsequent reglueing greatly increases the time of manufacture of the product, which is the continuous wood veneer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A block of bonded wood laminations is prepared by stacking laminations of substantially equal length and breadth until the laminations constitute substantially half the desired block. A wedge-shaped portion is then created on the stack of wood laminations by placing thereon wood laminations of successively decreasing length, but each having one end substantially level with the end of the lamination-s forming one end of the assembled stack. Further wood laminations of similar length and breadth to the first mentioned wood laminations are then stacked on top of the wedge-shaped portion to constitute approximately half the desired block, and the whole stack including the wedge-shaped portion is bonded so that all the wood laminations together constitute the block, which is subsequently mounted in a rotary slicing machine with the axis of the rotary slicing machine passing through the base of the wedge-shaped portion near the centre of the block, so that a continuous sheet of wood veneer is sliced from the block by the rotary slicing machine.

There is obtained a sheet of wood veneer comprising a series of similar V-shaped flowers separated from one another along the length of the V solely by sections of straight grain appearance and the whole pattern of the sheet of veneer is matched and is of similar colour.

The invention will be further understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, which is made purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows wood laminations stacked ready to form a block by the application of pressure from opposed flat parallel pressing surfaces,

FIG. 2 shows a block manufactured by the process of FIG. I mounted in a rotary slicing machine ready for slicing veneers in accordance with the invention, and

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a section of a continuous sheet of wood veneer obtained by slicing the block of FIG. 2 with the knife of a rotary slicing machine.

In the drawings, the same or similar parts are designated by like reference numerals.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, flat substantially faultless natural wood laminations 1 of substantially equal length and breadth are stacked one upon another with the grain of the wood laminations running in the same direction, until the first section, approximately equal to half the desired block of wood laminations, has been assembled.

A series of wood laminations 2 all having a breadth similar to the breadth of the wood laminations 1 are then placed on top of the stack or first section of wood laminations 1. Each of the wood laminations 2 is arranged to be shorter by a similar amount than the wood lamination on which it is placed, for example, in one particular case the wood laminations 1 have a length of 64 inches, and each of the wood laminations 2 is 2 inches shorter than the lamination upon which it is placed, so that in all there are 31 wood laminations 2 having successively the lengths 62", 60", 58", 56 etc.

At the same time that the series of wood laminations 2 is assembled to form a wedge-shaped portion on top of the stack of veneer laminations 1, a similar series of wood laminations 3 is assembled independently. Conveniently, as the laminations are trimmed for pressing in the wood laminations 2 this may be done in pairs of laminations, one of the laminations being placed in the series of laminations 2 and the other in the series of laminations 3 separately from the stack of laminations 1.

There is then placed on top of the series of wood laminations 2 further wood laminations 4 having a length and breadth similar to the wood laminations 1. Thus a second section of wood laminations is formed on top of the wood laminations 1 and 2.

The stack of wood laminations 1, 2 and 4 having an adhesive between successive wood laminations is placed on the lower jig of a substantially parallel-sided press. The series of wood laminations 3 having no adhesive in contact with any of them is then placed as a compensating wedge portion for the wedge portion 2 on top of the stack so that all the veneers placed in the press form together a substantially parallel-sided stack of wood laminations and when pressure is applied by the opposed faces of the press, a substantially equal pressure is applied throughout the whole of the glued wood laminations 1, 2 and 4.

In FIG. 2 there is shown the block 5 of bonded wood veneers produced by the process described. The block 5 is mounted between the chucks 6 and 7 of a rotary slicing machine so that the axis of the rotary slicing machine passes at one end of the block 5 through the base of the wedge-shaped portion constituted by the laminations 2 and at the other end of the block 5 the axis passes through the tip of the wedge-shaped portion which is Where the full length laminations 1 and 4 come together.

When the block 5 is rotated in the rotary slicing machine initial trimming has to take place until the block becomes substantially circular. Separate sheets of wood veneer of different sizes are produced in this stage.

Once the block 5 has been trimmed to be substantially circular a continuous sheet of wood veneer is sliced from it. The pattern on the sheet of wood veneer is indicated in FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings where a series of similar artificial flowers 8 are shown separated by substantially straight grain sections 9.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, the flower of adjacent patterns 8 are shown as having the same angle of V, and this pattern is obtained when the chuck 6 is mounted half way up the base of the wedge-shaped portion comprising the laminated portion in the block 5. By varying the position at which the axis 6 passes through the base of the wedgeshaped portion so the different angle of V is obtained in adjacent flowers, although these are still similar flowers in that the V remains the same way up.

The continuous sheet of veneer is a matched veneer in that there is along the veneer a point about which the pattern is a mirror image of itself. By the method of the present invention this matched pattern is obtained without any reversal of the veneer so that the continuous sheet of veneer is of the same colour or tone along its whole length.

The present invention further comprehends a continuous sheet of veneer having similar adjacent flowers comprising a matched pattern and of similar colour.

I claim:

1. A method of manufacturing wood veneer comprising the steps of preparing a block of wood laminations by stacking a first section of wood laminations each having substantially the same length and substantially the same breadth, creating a wedge-shaped portion on the said first section by stacking thereon wood laminations of similar breadth but lesser length than the wood laminations comprising the first section, stacking on the wedgeshaped portion a second section of wood laminations each having substantially the same length and substantially the same breadth as the laminations in the first section, and simultaneously bonding together the wood laminations in all of the said first and second sections and the wedge-shaped portion to form a block comprising the said two sections and the wedge-shaped portion, mounting the block in a rotary slicing machine with the axis of the rotary slicing machine passing through the base of the wedge-shaped portion within the block, and slicing from the block, using the rotary slicing machine, wood veneer having adjacent artificial flowers extending in the same direction.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the axis of the rotary slicing machine passes through the junction between the two sections of wood laminations at the end of the block where these two sections of laminations come together.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the wedge shaped portion is comprised by a series of wood laminations all of which are of diflerent lengths and which are arranged in said series in order of decreasing length, the difference in length between adjacent wood laminations in the series being similar.

4. A method of manufacturing a sheet of wood veneer comprising the steps of preparing a block of bonded wood laminations by stacking wood laminations of substantially equal length and breadth until the laminations constitute substantially half the desired block, creating a wedge-shaped portion on the stack of wood laminations by placing thereon successively wood laminations of decreasing length, each of the wood laminations of decreasing length having one end substantially level with the end of the laminations forming one end of the assembled stack, placing on the stack including the wedgeshaped portion further Wood laminations of similar length and breadth to the first mentioned wood laminations, bonding the wood laminations together to constitute the block, mounting the block in a rotary slicing machine with the axis of the rotary slicing machine passing through the base of the wedge-shaped portion near the centre of the block, and slicing a continuous sheet of wood veneer from the block in the rotary slicing machine.

'5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the wood laminations are bonded together by assembling the stacked wood laminations as a stack having adhesive between the successive laminations which comprise the stack so that all the wood laminations are glued wood laminations, wherein there is placed on the stack of glued wood laminations a Wedge-shaped portion oppositely disposed with respect to the wedge-shaped portion of glued wood laminations Within the stack, the Wood laminations in the said oppositely disposed wedge-shaped portion comprising wood laminations similar to the glued wood laminations in the wedge-shaped portion within the glued stack, and by placing the resulting assembly of stacked glued wood laminations and the oppositely disposed wedgeshaped portion of wood laminations between opposite parallel faces of a press whereby equal pressure is exerted on the glued wood laminations throughout their length and breadth as the wood laminations are bonded together to form the block.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,992,715 2/1935 Ovenhausen 156255X 2,245,170 6/1941 Von Ende et a1. 156-255X 2,739,095 3/1956 Stone 156-267 FOREIGN PATENTS 569,518 5/1945 Great Britain 156267 1,064,124 5/1967 Great Britain 156255 VERLIN R. PENDEGRASS, Primary Examiner 

